The emotions of eating: New study will help industry design foods and marketing to match emotions

A better understanding of the way in which emotions influence consumer behaviours could help industry create new products that fit new market niches and assist in overhauling marketing and communication that is ineffective, say researchers.

Scientists from AZTI-Tecnalia, Spain, are working on a 'pioneering' method to better identify and understand how emotions are linked to the consumption of food.

Led by Leire Barañano, head of AZTI-Tecnalia’s Foodstuff Research Unit, the Spanish scientists behind the new project explained that emotions are known to play a 'decisive role' in buying decisions yet research looking to identify how emotions, desires and aspirations influence consumer behaviour are still limited.

The idea, she said, is to design new food products and actions for communication and marketing that use deeper knowledge about the emotions that lie behind them.

"The benefits of these studies for the foodstuff industry are many, since they not only help to identify new market niches, they also indicate which food trends are set to make an impact on these niches and on society in general," said Barañano.

“If we know about the emotional side of food consumption companies will be able to develop new products designed to provide experiences that are becoming more accepted and being increasingly demanded by consumers, as well as other new ones that could be incorporated onto the market,” she added - also noting that the studies will form the basis of an 'indispensable' tool for designing communication and marketing actions "that will score a bull’s-eye in terms of consumers’ emotions.”

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A better understanding of the way in which emotions influence consumer behaviours could help industry create new products that fit new market niches and assist in overhauling marketing and communication that is ineffective, say researchers.